The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected the Israeli blockchain company Coti as one of the so -called “Pioneer Partners” for the technical development of the digital euro. This means that COTI will play a key role in demonstrating how conditional payments can be technically realized within the future CBDC system of the eurozone.
Start shot for digital euro in 2026
The launch of the digital euro is planned for the beginning of 2026. In the run-up to it, the ECB works together with around 70 parties from the fintech and financial sector on various use cases. The focus in this phase is on technical feasibility and interoperability. COTI is one of the few blockchain companies in this group and will specifically contribute to designing privacy protective payment solutions.
Coti is known for its cryptographic innovation called “Garbled Circuits”. This is a technique that guarantees confidentiality on the blockchain. This technology was previously applied in collaboration with the Bank van Israel for the digital Shekel, the CBDC of Israel.
Shahaf Bar-Geffen, CEO of Coti, calls the selection by the ECB a recognition of the technical expertise of his team:
“Uitgenodigd worden om met de ECB samen te werken aan zo’n belangrijk project is een eer en getuigt van de expertise en het harde werk van het COTI-team. Privacy is een essentieel onderdeel van de toekomst van Web3. het waarborgt zowel de veiligheid van gebruikers als de naleving door organisaties. Diezelfde voordelen gelden ook voor CBDC’s. Het is cruciaal dat vertrouwelijkheid vanaf het begin in de kern van deze nieuwe systemen wordt ingebouwd, en niet will be added afterwards. ”
The importance of privacy in CBDC systems has long been the subject of discussion, and COTI’s involvement confirms that the ECB takes this issue seriously.
From pilot project to practice
Later this year a report is expected from the Pioneer group, in which the technical feasibility and applications are evaluated. This report will partly determine which technologies and partners will be given a place in the final infrastructure of the digital euro.
With this collaboration, the ECB underlines its willingness to work with innovative players from the crypto industry. For COTI this means a strategic step towards broader adoption of their technology in institutional environments.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/ecb-selecteert-blockchainpartner-nieuwe-ontwikkelingsstap-digitale-euro/
